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Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Seriously Good Suppers: Apple & Rosemary Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Meals in our house are going to be quite apple-centric for the next week or so (see previous post). I have a few favorites up my sleeve, but last night, I tried a new recipe for pork tenderloin stuffed with our freshly picked apples, onion, and rosemary. It's finally cool enough to use the oven again, so I'm back to roasting anything I can get my hands on. Served along with some buttered carrots and a simple green salad, we really loved this recipe. The tender pork paired so well with the mildly tart apple and the sweet onion. And the rosemary? Well, it's hard to go wrong with a little rosemary. Now it's one apple down, about 20 more to go!

To butterfly the tenderloin, first slice pork lengthwise with a sharp paring knife, cutting down to, but not through, the other side. Spread the halves, laying pork flat. Slice lengthwise down the center of each half, cutting to, but not through, the other side. Open pork, laying flat. (It should be rectangular at this point)

Place a sheet of plastic wrap over the meat, and use the flat side of a meat tenderizer (or a rolling pin) to pound to an even thickness. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add enough oil to coat the bottom of the skillet. Once the oil is hot, add the onion, apple, and garlic. Saute for 5 minutes or until tender. Add the vinegar and rosemary, cook for 1 minute.

Place apple mixture in a small bowl and wipe out the pan.

Spread the apple and onion mixture evenly over the butterflied pork. Roll up like a jelly-roll. Tie every few inches with kitchen twine (or be a rebel like me and use regular ol' twine, as shown in the picture, because you keep forgetting to buy kitchen twine. It works too.)

Return pan to medium-high heat. Add about 1 Tb of oil to cover the bottom of the pan. When hot, place the pork in the pan, seam side down. Cook for 4-5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides.

Place the skillet in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes, or until a meat thermometer reads 145°.

Remove pork from the pan; let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

(Note: Don't be too hard on yourself if yours kind of falls apart when you slice it instead of resulting in perfect little pork pinwheels. The gorgeous photo from Cooking Light is on the right. My sad looking version is on the left, like I had to tell you which one was which. Regardless of how it looks once you slice it, it tastes delicious!)